Page 112 of Brutal Legacy

Toni shook her head. “Nope. It’s specially made. Giada, the boss’s sister, cooked it up. You can call your husband, and he can call you, and that’s it.”

“Great. What if I’m in a burning building and I need to call the fire department?”Or the police to report my own kidnapping?

“I’d still recommend calling your husband.”

Well, it was clear where her loyalty lay. I shoved the phone into my pocket.

“Okay.” I sighed. “What now?” I looked around the room. It was flooded with natural light. There was space and all the stuff I could possibly need.

“I guess you’ve got a lot to organize. Better get started.”

A flicker of excitement lit in my belly.

“Let’s do it.”

By the time night fell,I’d organized my new room seven different ways. I had my half-finished designs all pinned onto dummies. I’d been shocked to find the walk-in closet in my room packed with not only the clothes I’d picked out, but the rest of the store. He was right, money wasn’t an object to him anymore. It was hard to get my head around.

I couldn’t lie, when I’d found the wardrobe, I spent nearly an hour trying things on. I was still neck-deep in the new things when a soft knock on the closet’s archway that connected the walk-in to my bedroom sent me spinning around.

Elio lounged in the doorway, dark and dangerous and utterly lethal. His sharply cut suit did nothing to hide the power in his shoulders, and his piercing green eyes were fixed on me. Not on my face, though, onallof me, up and down, taking in the dress I was wearing. I’d been trying on a pale-yellow one that fell to the knee and had a sweetheart neckline. The bodice was tight, and I couldn’t reach the zipper myself. He walked toward me and wordlessly twirled a finger, telling me to turn around. I complied, and he pulled the zipper up. The feeling of his hot breath on my back weakened my knees.

“The clothes fit,” was all he remarked.

I nodded. “They do. You didn’t need to go to such expense, though. I’m just grateful to have fresh underwear.”

“If you’re implying that I’m trying to butter you up, or buy you with them… you’re mistaken.” Elio’s gaze held my eyes in the mirror in front of us.

His hand slipped from my shoulder and ringed my neck, and I forgot how to breathe.

It sat like a tattooed necklace against the base of my throat.

“I already own you,topolina.”

His fingers pressed lightly into the sides of my throat, constricting my breath just enough to send my heart racing. His front pressed into my back. I felt trapped. Suffocated. Liable to be consumed by this man.

I didn’t hate it like I should.

My eyes drifted closed. I couldn’t take him so near, the scent of him, and the look in those green eyes. It was all too much. I was already losing my head, there was no need to speed up the process.

“We’re going out for dinner,” Elio declared, releasing me and stepping back. “Wear the dress.”

Then he turned and left me there, blood thumping in my veins, hands clenched into fists, genuinely unsure if I wanted to kiss him or kill him.

32

GEORGIA

We went to a private dining room in an upscale casino for dinner.

“Wow, the prisoner’s getting parole tonight?” I mused as I grabbed a menu excitedly. Okay, a few days in, and I was already grateful for just getting to be outside.

Perfect. My mental health is looking really good.

“Just for a few hours, so don’t get too worked up,” Elio said to me calmly, watching me peruse the menu.

The food sounded amazing. I worked my way through the list, my mouth watering.

A knock at the door sent the security in the room on high alert.

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